What does Tai Chi entail?

Tai Chi is a tremendous system for health and self-defense. But what does this system consist of?
Well there is the solo exercise that is most commonly seen. But that is not even a tenth of the Tai Chi syllabus.

Traditionally, and in my classes, students start off learning breathing and basic chi kung so that they may begin working on developing internal force. This step is sadly omitted oftentimes today. If you learn a form without learning how to cultivate and utilize internal force, then you have got what the Chinese call "Brocade legs and flowery fists." Your forms may look good but they lack power and substance.

A lot of people out there may say I don't want to learn to fight I'm interested in health. Well without the basic Chi Kung you will not get good health and all the form training in the world will not help you. I know this very well I practiced Tai Chi for years without any real internal force training and I got two things: I was somewhat flexible and very overweight. Tai Chi form is not sufficient exercise without the basic form training. It has been a while since I thankfully learned the proper Chi Kung exercises and breathing techniques and the pounds are steadily shedding off my frame and all the nifty forms I learned have gone from being empty movements to powerful substantial gestures that have a new grace and beauty.

After you have learned the proper Chi Kung foundation, then you move on to learning individual movements. You practice these over and over again, infusing them with power and stability until they become natural ways of moving for you.

Once the basic movements have been drilled sufficiently, you learn to apply them in isolation, learning how these movements would work in self-defense. After this training has taken hold then you learn the Tai Chi Form.

Tai Chi forms are interesting things. They are like textbooks or poems handed down for generations, sometime for over 1000 years. They are the crystallized combat experience of generations of fighters. Many people today say that forms are simply fancy dances, and without the previous Chi Kung foundation , they are.

Once the Form has been learned the student begins to learn Tui Shou or Sensing Hands. This exercise tests your relaxation and balance. As I have often heard and said myself it is one thing to relax by yourself it is quite another to be relaxed and calm in interaction with another person.
Sensing hands is in many ways the most beneficial exercise in Tai Chi because it takes out meditative relaxation built through Chi Kung and allows us to carry it with us in a more active setting.

After Sensing Hands is understood and regularly practiced, applications of the form movements are revisited and the student learns how to respond to aggression in a self-defense situation.

When the bare hand portion of Tai Chi is well understood, then the student may choose to learn to use the Chinese straight sword, the saber, the staff, and the spear.

As you can see there is a lot to Tai Chi. It's been around a long time and has grown into a fascinating, complex, and complete art. So take your time and absorb it in small bite sized chunks. Work on each small piece your teacher gives you. Polish it and really build up your Kung Fu!

Happy Training!